I’m not sure if it’s me or the author, but while I have enjoyed the last few Fiona Davis novels I have read, I also don’t think they have been as good as some of her earlier books. I think part of it might be that the two I enjoyed the most had more time between the two view points of the dual narratives so there was a bit more of the modern person discovering the story of the past while these last ones I have read have been more about an older person revisiting their past. Setting the “back in the day” narrative further back (e.g. it’s been long enough that they are definitely dead) seems to make some of the outcomes a bit more heavy or tragic, and gives the story more pathos.
This novel follows Charlotte in the 1970s and the 1930s. Charlotte has worked at the Met for years and has been working on a research project but has not been back to Egypt since she was part of an archeological dig in the 1930s where events took a tragic turn (and of course it takes about half the novel to find out what that tragic turn is).
The novel begins as everyone at the museum as is preparing for that year’s Met Gala. There is one additional point of view character in the 1970s, Annie, a young woman who has always loved the Egyptian exhibit at the Met, and unexpectedly gets a job as assistant to famed fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who is preparing the Met Gala.
On the night of the gala, a key piece of from the Egyptian exhibit is stolen, and for different reasons, Annie and Charlotte are both very driven to help recover the piece, finding themselves teaming up on a trip to Cairo to find answers and track down the stolen artifact.
Overall, there were a lot of things I liked about this – the first half in New York, the parts discussing archeological digs and history as well as the ideas of ownership. There were just a few things that didn’t quite pull together for me, mostly in the last half of the novel. Something about the Egypt portion just felt slightly rushed or off, and I think the book blurb should have skipped all the comments about the queen’s curse because it felt a bit underwhelming in the novel. It probably didn’t help either that I really didn’t like or buy Charlotte’s love interest from the 1930s portion of the story.
I still have a few older Davis novels in my to-read pile so hoping I will enjoy those a bit more. Even this one was still solid and entertaining but she’s done things I enjoyed more so that’s why I think I keep feeling a little disappointed.